In applications involving transmission of signals representing human speech, it may be desirable to maximize transmission power in order to maximize the range and clarity of a transmitted signal. In accordance with conventional practice, a peak clipper may be used to reduce the amplitude of peaks in the signal to raise the peak to average ratio of the signal to provide higher average output. However, peak clipping introduces undesirable harmonics into the signal. Alternatively, conventional signal compression may be used to reduce signal peaks. However, such techniques are generally unsatisfactory because they produce excessive attenuation of signal components immediately following spikes in the signal. This can lead to signal drop out and loss of intelligibility of the resulting signal.